The strong Tulip and the broken bee
by bloodyXwhiteXrabbit
Summary: AU/Humanstuck (Plays in my Of love and other failures universe) The story of how Mituna turned out to be like this, and how Latula managed the situation. What heroic actions did he take and ended up broken?


**A/N: **Hi guys :D  
Now i know that some people are waiting for me to update Of love and other failures, and the chapter is written, just not on this computer, and i can't get it until the day after tomorrow :)  
But i had to write this down someday. It plays in the same universe as my other Homestuck stories.

I love Mituna and i wanted a reasonable explanation as to why he's like this now.  
Also, this is the first time that Cronus, Calliborn and Calliope are mentioned or introduced in this series.

Have fun :D

* * *

The gate sprang open in a haste, and the path was crossed quickly…  
Past the swings…  
Past the huge tree…  
Past the fountain…

„Kill her, if you don't, I'll kill you."

"No!"

Slowly, the bat raised into the air, aiming at the little bundle cowering on the ground, sobbing and whimpering.

"NO!" he yelled again, louder this time.

He wanted to charge forward, but he couldn't move.  
It felt as if his feet were glued to the ground…

"NO!"

Suddenly he was shaken lightly and he heard a familiar voice calling for him, while drops of blood hit his face and the sound of bones being crushed rang in his ears.

"NO!"

"Baby! Wake up Baby!"

Startled, Mituna ripped open his eyes and stared into the worried face of his girlfriend, Latula.  
It took a moment to realize that he had been dreaming, and that he was safely lying in Latula's bedroom.  
That damn dream again…

"Baby are you okay?" Latula asked, gently stroking his hair back.

Closing his eyes, Mituna nodded and let himself fall back into the pillow, wrapping an arm around Latula and pulling her close.  
He buried his face in her hair and remained silent as she soothingly patted his head.

"That dream again?"

He nodded.

"Babe, it's only a dream…"

"It's not."

She sighed and cupped his face as she looked up into his eyes.

"It is."

Mituna let out a desperate groan and clenched his eyes.  
The migraine was back.

"I told you Tula, it's a premonition… something is going to happen."

Annoyed, Latula sat up and glared down at him.

"You know that nothing is going to happen, stop making yourself crazy and get some sleep! You are driving me nuts!"

She got up and shook off Mituna's hand on hers.

"Tula – "

"No. I'm going to sleep on the couch."

* * *

"Morning, Kurloz.

Kurloz, who was sitting on a bench in Belforus Academy's botanical garden, turned his head and smiled when he saw Mituna walking towards him, two sandwiches in hand.  
Mituna passed him one and sat down himself, watching his best friend peacefully unwrapping the Turkey sandwich.

"So, how are you today? You've been awfully quiet."

Kurloz grinned and flipped him off.

"You still refuse to talk then… you know that it will cause you trouble?"

Biting into the sandwich, his friend shrugged and raised his thumb.

"How's Meulin?"

Mituna knew that he shouldn't have asked, but it was the only way to make the mask, his friend had been constantly wearing ever since that day, crumble.  
The smile had been replaced by a frown, and Kurloz stared down at his sandwich.

"You don't have to answer me… I chatted her up the other day. She misses you."

Kurloz shook his head and closed his eyes.

"She does, just… she wants you to stop. You know, with screwing up your future and stuff…"

A weak smile appeared on Kurloz' lips.

"I am worried too… I – "

Suddenly, Mituna stopped and clenched his eyes, pressing a hand against his forehead.

"Shit!" he hissed through clenched teeth, when he felt a hand on his shoulders.

He wanted to shake it off, but he was interrupted when pain struck again, like a needle being driven directly into his brain.  
But as if a splitting headache wasn't enough, he suddenly felt sick as well.

"Kurloz…"

Firm hands gripped his shoulders, gently pulling him up.

"I'm gonna – "

But it was too late.  
The last thing he remembered was a sudden pull towards the floor and an arm around his waist, before everything turned black.

Slowly, Mituna woke up, head spinning and lightheaded.  
He was in a bright room, kept in white.

"Baby? Are you okay?"

Still dizzy, he let his head fall to the left, seeing Latula sitting there, holding his hand.

"Yeah… I'm 'kay…" he slurred.

Smiling softly, Latula reached up and caressed his cheek.

"Kurloz sent me a message that you collapsed… what happened?"

Smiling, Mituna let out a content sigh and leant into the touch.

"It was a migraine… pretty bad this time."

"You've been having them way too often lately, baby."

"I know… but I didn't think you'd come to see me."

Confused and slightly upset, Latula withdrew her hand.

"Why is that?"

Mituna smiled sadly.

"I thought I was driving you nuts…"

She punched him playfully and grinned.

"Sometimes you do, but I will always be there, you jerk!"

Chuckling, he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer.

"And I'll always be there to drive you crazy, Tulip."

Latula smiled upon hearing her pet name coming over her lover's lips.  
It was as if he put all of his affection into the simple name.

"Tell me again why you call me Tulip…"

Mituna chuckled and brushed his thumb over her soft hand in his.

"Well first off, it's like your name, but the flower suits you. You are strong and powerful, yet beautiful in color… even when they are dying, they never make it look like they are giving in.  
Their petals are beautiful despite death that surrounds them, they remain pretty and healthy…"

For a moment, Latula stared into Mituna's eyes, realizing once again, that he indeed was the man she wanted to spend her life with…

"You are so weird…"

Chuckling, Mituna shrugged.

"Still, you will always be my Tulip, baby."

Latula chuckled and leaned down to kiss him.  
Instantly, he responded by wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into the bed.  
Not hesitating for a moment, she straddled his hip and deepened the kiss, but when she felt his hands squeezing her butt, she jumped a bit and slapped him playfully.

"Booyah" he laughed and pulled her down once again.

* * *

In the evening, Mituna was free to leave the hospital, and he gladly took up the offer.  
Unfortunately, Latula hadn't been able to accompany him home, and Kurloz seemed to be busy, but he didn't mind.  
Things were peaceful with Latula again and that was all that mattered to him.  
The migraine fits worried him, but it was probably due to stress and the lack of sleep he had been under for two months now…  
And instantly he remembered the dream…  
It was always the same dream, but when he woke up, he couldn't really recall that much, not enough to point out details at least.  
Only bits and pieces kept coming back to him now and then.

Suddenly, Mituna stopped in front of a gate.  
He knew the gate…  
It led to the central park, and he had been here many times before, but that was not what had startled him enough to make him freeze.

The place felt familiar and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine at the thought.  
It was the gate from his dream…  
He wanted to pass it, get as far away as possible, but deep inside something urged him to enter.  
It was dark already and the streets had been dangerous ever since that gang was roaming the streets at night, but Mituna felt the responsibility to enter.  
If even only a fragment of his dream was true, he'd never forgive himself for not doing something about it.

At best, he'd simply walk through the empty and creepy park…  
At worst?

Well, he was about to find out…

His hands shaking, he slowly opened the gate and entered the park, lit by street lamps, and as he kept walking along the path, he recognized more and more from his dream…

An old swing set, a huge oak tree even the fountain was there.

As his heart began to beat faster and faster, he felt himself torn by his instincts.  
His brain told him to run away, to never look back and simply get the fuck out of there, but his heart told him to stay.  
He had to do something…  
In his dreams, he was always glued to the ground, but now he was free to act… free to protect.

What if that girl in his dream had been Tula?

No, he couldn't back out now…

Suddenly, he heard voices, one laughing the other one growling deeply.  
They came from behind the bushes to his left.  
Silently, Mituna sneaked towards them, and as he reached them, he peered through the bushes, careful not to make any noise.

He couldn't see too well through the leaves, but what he saw caused his breath to hitch and his heart to stop for a moment.

A girl cowered on the ground, just like in his dreams, crying loudly and covering her head with her pale hands.  
Three men stood around her, while one of them was barely a teen.  
One of them held an iron bat, and one of them was way too familiar to Mituna.  
Without thinking, he sprang out of the bush and stomped towards the three.

"KURLOZ!" he shouted, watching as his best friend whipped his head around, surprised and taken aback.

The other guys just stared at him and Mituna studied them briefly.  
One, probably the oldest after Kurloz, was a bald boy with strikingly red eyes.  
He was the one that carried the bat and was now glaring at the intruder, the other one looked almost exactly like Kurloz, only younger, but his eyes were even colder and more insane than Kurloz'.

"What are you doing here?!" Mituna yelled and shoved his friend away from the girl.

"Hey, fucker!" the bald boy shouted

"Get out of here, or you'll regret it."

Mituna ignored him and looked into the confused eyes of his friend and then to the girl that was stilly crying.  
She was pale and her white hair seemed a bit out of place… or not real at all.

"Calliborn… let's just get out of here, this takes it too far. We won't kill – " growled the younger version of Kurloz.

"Kill?!" Mituna yelled, grabbing Kurloz' shoulders, but he averted his eyes.

"You want to kill her?!"

"Shut him up, will you Kurloz?" the guy named Calliborn asked, rubbing his eyes annoyed.

"And you" he turned to look at the youngest of them

"will shut the fuck up now too, Gamzee. You agreed to do your fucking job, and it isn't your first time, now do it."

He held out the bat in front of the boy's face, but he refused to take it.

"Kurloz! What is going on h – "

He was interrupted when his friend grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the ground, pressing his face into the grass.

"Thanks Kurloz" Calliborn said and stepped in front of Gamzee.

"Now, kill her, or I will kill you."

Gamzee shook his head.

"We kill only the people we see fit, she did nothing wrong."

"WHAT?!" Calliborn shouted.

The two of them kept discussing, when Mituna noticed that Kurloz was completely absorbed and obviously torn by the argument.  
It was the only chance he had, to talk to the girl, whose head was now pretty close to his.

"Hey, psst" he whispered.

She lowered her arms a bit and he saw her green eyes, ripped open in terror.

"When I say go, you run, okay?"

Trembling, she shook her head, but he gave her an encouraging nod.

Sure, he felt like beating up Kurloz right now, but he had to get the girl out of here first.  
Closing his eyes, he mustered all the strength he could and prepared for his attack.  
When Gamzee and Calliborn seemed to be only seconds from killing each other, Mituna felt the grip on his neck loosen.  
That was his chance…  
He used his arms to push himself off the ground and smashed the back of his head against Kurloz' chin, throwing him off his back in the process.

"GO!" he yelled, watching as all eyes rested on him, giving the girl a short moment to flee.

She didn't get too far, though.  
Calliborn caught her by the wrist, just as Mituna came to his feet.  
Instantly, he charged towards the bat swinging maniac, feeling Kurloz reaching for his feet, but he was too fast.  
He let out a war cry as he wrestled Calliborn down, freeing the girl.  
She didn't hesitate and began to run for the exit, but Mituna regretted watching her leave, because the boy was a lot stronger than he had expected, and soon he found himself on the ground, pinned down by a furious bald guy, the bat slowly crushing his throat.

"Kurloz, we're fucking outta here" he heard Gamzee say, as he tried to gasp for air.

"YOU FUCKER RUINED EVERYTHING!" Calliborn shouted into Mituna's face.

Out of the corners of his eye, he saw Gamzee and Kurloz leaving, though Kurloz had to be dragged…

"I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Mituna tried to fight him off, but he was too weak.  
As the light slowly faded, he saw Latula in his mind… he'd wanted to marry her, to have kids with her… but now he was going to die, but at least he had saved another life… in a way, he was glad.

Then suddenly, the bat was removed, and the vision came back slowly.  
For a moment, Mituna expected to see Latula or Kurloz towering over him, or fighting off that asshole, but all he saw was these crazy red eyes and an insane grin.

"Oh, don't think I'll let you off that easily!"

He raised the bat, aiming directly at Mituna's face.

"I'll make you suffer, bitch!"

After that, it was just a mixture of pain… red… sirens and the sound of bones breaking…

* * *

Worried, Latula checked her phone, once again…  
It was after eight, way past the time Mituna had promised to call and something insider her screamed at her, telling her that something was wrong…  
Maybe he had collapsed on the way home, or he had been run over or… or… or she was simply driving herself crazy.  
He had looked so utterly weak this afternoon and it had scared her shitless.  
It was the proof that her indestructible and radical boyfriend was only a mortal, like everyone else.  
He could die…

_BZZZZ_

The vibrating of her phone startled Latula enough to drop the phone onto the bed, but she picked it up instantly, opening the message.

"From Kurloz?"

Alarmed, she began to read.

'_Mituna is at the hospital, please come, they have been performing surgery for hours, don't know if he's gonna make it. Sorry :'O( '_

This time, she didn't pick the phone up when it slipped through her shaking fingers.  
She simply sat there for a minute, mind blank, body shaking and a tear running over her cheek.

"Baby" she whimpered, before reminding herself that Mituna needed her now, she couldn't break down now… for his sake.

So without shedding more tears, she stormed downstairs, when she ran into her little sister.

"Sis… what's – do I smell tears?"

"Where're mum's keys?"

Terezi pointed towards the hallway, well, kinda.

"What happened?"

Latula ignored her and hurried to get her mother's keys, not asking for permission, determined to get to him as fast as possible, but as soon as she sat inside the car, trying to get the keys into the ignition, she almost broke down. Her fingers were shaking so badly that she didn't make it.  
She was about to punch out all of her frustration and breaking the steering wheel, when suddenly she heard someone knock on the window.  
Latula jumped and let out a shriek, looking into a face she hadn't expected at all.  
The door was opened, but before the "visitor" was able to say anything, Latula began to make her anger some air.

"CRONUS! What the actual FUCK are you doing here?! I DON'T have time for – "

She wanted to yell some more, but the annoyed boy pulled her into his arms, holding her in place, despite her protests.

"Calm down… Kurloz contacted me, he told me to drive you to the hospital, so calm the fuck down, okay?"

Instantly, he let go and for the first time, Latula saw serious concern on the usually selfish jerk's face.

"Why you?"

"I'm the only one that could be considered a closer friend to Mituna and owns a car…"

Slowly, Latula nodded and followed Cronus to his white limousine.  
They got in and Cronus put on the seatbelt, giving Latula an expectant look.

"Look, please put it on, he'd kill me if I let you get hurt."

"Who?" Latula asked, slightly absentminded, she didn't want to talk, she wanted to finally be there, hold his hand, soothe his pain…

"Mituna of course."

He didn't get an answer.

"Look, he's gonna be fine. He's a tough – "

"Just get me the fuck to the hospital okay?"

Sighing, Cronus started the car and backed out of the driveway quickly.  
After about ten minutes, he stopped right in front of the entrance.  
The car hadn't even stopped when Latula undid her seatbelt and jumped out of the car, hurrying inside.  
Cronus stared after her, slightly annoyed and hurt.

"No problem" he muttered as he lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

"He's my friend too, you know… must be nice to be so loved."

* * *

The moment Latula reached the floor Mituna was going to be brought in, she was met by Kurloz.  
She wanted to run past him and get a doctor, but he caught her in his arms and held her tight.

"LET ME GO!"

Kurloz shook his head and lifted her up, carrying her to one of the benches that stood at the end of the hallway.  
Without a word, he sat her down on one and let himself fall in the one next to her.  
When she attempted to get up, he caught her by the wrist.

"Where is he?! I want to see him."

Kurloz shook his head and pulled out his phone, writing something on it quickly before showing it to her.

'_He's still in surgery. His parents are the only ones allowed in his designated room, we must wait here.'_

"Screw that!" Latula said loudly.

"What happened?! Tell me!"

Kurloz looked down at the floor sadly, before beginning to type again.  
After a while, he finally handed her the device to read it.

'_I was out at the park, after having sold all of my… stuff, when I heard a commotion, I saw him getting beat up by a lunatic.  
I called the police and an ambulance, the perp fled.'_

"You didn't help him?!"

Quickly, Kurloz shook his head, giving her an upset look.

"Yeah… sorry, it's just… Thank you."

"Latula?!"

The two of them quickly raised their heads, seeing a middle-aged woman walking towards them.  
Her eyes were red rimmed and she was clawing a handkerchief.

"Miss Captor… " Latula said, getting up from her seat.

"Is he – "

Mituna's mother quickly took Latula into her arms and held her close.

"The surgery is finished, but they brought him to a different room, I thought I'd find you here."

Slowly, Latula let go and stepped back.

"So he's alive?"

The mother nodded, but something wasn't exactly right…

"Let's just go…"

When they reached the room Mituna was in, Kurloz was held back by Mituna's dad.

"We already saw him, and I think Latula needs a moment alone with him."

Only reluctantly, Kurloz stayed behind, watching as Latula entered the room alone.  
Inside, Latula felt dizzy, as soon as she saw her boyfriend, hooked to countless machines and bags filled with liquids.  
His head was wrapped up in bandages that only left his eyes free, which were swollen and red.

Latula walked over to a chair that stood next to the bed, as fast as her shaky legs would take her.

"Oh baby…" she cried, taking his limp hand into hers.

"I'm so sorry… I should have been there…"

* * *

Four weeks.  
For four weeks Latula and Kurloz visited Mituna, even though he had not yet awaken from his coma.  
And despite the doctors constantly reminding them that even if Mituna'd ever wake up, he'd probably be different… but they couldn't exactly say to what extent yet.

But when Kurloz suddenly appeared on Latula's doorstep one Sunday morning, smiling widely, she immediately knew that the time had come.

"Now, Latula, we already talked to him… " said Mituna's dad giving her a warning look.

"He's got some difficul – hey!"

Instead of listening, Latula barged into the room, expecting a tired, worn out and beat up Mituna, greeting her with his bright smile and arms wide open, but this was nothing like her expectations at all…

"Baby…" she whispered, still standing in the doorframe.

Mituna sat on his bed, crying and arguing incoherently with the nurse that tried to inject him something.

"DDDDD- DON'T!" he cried.

The nurse sighed desperately and shook her head.

"Then the pain won't stop."

Upon hearing that, Mituna cried out even louder, the sound freezing the blood in Latula's veins.  
Was this her boyfriend?

"Want to sssstop it…" Mituna whimpered, holding out his arm, but when the nurse tried to give him the medicine, he pulled it away again and yelled at her.

The nurse threw her hands in the air and turned around to leave the room.

"Are you just going to leave him with his pain?!" Latula asked, grabbing the nurse by the arm.

"Well, you can inject it if you want to! I've been at it for an hour!"

Without another word, she shoved the syringe into Latula's hand and left.  
Sighing, Latula slowly went to take a seat next to Mituna, who was still crying.

"Baby…"

And for the first time, Mituna looked at her.  
It was that moment that she almost broke down crying.

"Who're you?" he asked, no recognition visible in his eyes.

For a moment, she was at a loss of words… what was she supposed to do now?  
How was she supposed to support and love a person that didn't even recognize her?

"Y – you don't remember me?"

Mituna cocked his head and squinted his eyes.

"Nooooo clue!" he giggled and shook his head.

The shock was like a slap in the face and Latula didn't know what to do, she wanted to leave, she wanted to hit him and get the old Mituna back.  
Tears escaped her eyes and this time she allowed it, it was not like Mituna'd care anyway, and her whole world was pretty much collapsing at the moment, so who'd give a fuck about some tears?

As soon as she let go though, violent sobs began to shake her and she clutched her knees to give her at least some kind of support.

"Don't cry…"

But Latula couldn't stop, she cried loudly, until she felt soft fingers on her cheek.

"Don't cry… please"

For the first time, she heard the slight lisp in his voice…  
But it was the shaking and sadness in his voice that caused her to look up into his eyes.

"You are strooooong, don't cry… when you wilt… still beautiful…aaaaargh!"

He clenched his eyes and pressed his left hand against his temples.

"It hurtsss."

"What did you say?" Latula asked, surprised by his words.

"Huuuurts!"

When he began to punch himself in the head, she caught his wrists and pinned them down.

"I'll call the nurse."

"NO!" he cried when she wanted to get up.

"Stay with me… you p – p – promised!"

"Do you remember me?"

Mituna desperately groaned.

"Stay here Tulip! Please!"

Smiling sadly, Latula nodded.

"I'll stay… I'm sure there's a button here to call the nurse."

After the nurse had sedated Mituna, his family and Kurloz had been allowed to enter as well.  
He was now peacefully sleeping, Latula's hand firmly holding in his.

"So… what exactly is the diagnosis" she asked, not taking her eyes off the sleeping boy.

Mituna's father was the one to answer.

"It seems that he has experienced an extreme cranial trauma… it damaged his brain badly.  
He will have to do a lot of therapy to get back to his usual physical form, if at all.  
But that wouldn't be a big deal, it's his mental condition that we are worried about.  
His brain was so heavily damaged by both the injury and the bleedings, that he'd probably… never be the old Mituna we knew…"

"Mental retardation?" she asked.

"That sounds… horrible" his mother said

"But I'm afraid it's close to his condition.  
With therapy and special treatment, he will be able to at least remember more things… but he will probably stay like this forever."

"Is there nothing that can be done?"

Sadly, the parents shook their heads, the mother close to tears once again.  
Latula on the other hand was oddly calm.  
Mituna kind of remembered her… and somewhere deep inside he was still the boy she had fallen in love with, and even if it was going to be hard and tiring, she'd fight to her death to protect him now.  
She had let him down once before, but from now on, she'd do everything to give him the best life that she could offer.

Suddenly, she felt someone standing close to her, and she was surprised when she saw the pale fingers of Kurloz, gently reaching for Mituna's face.

When she looked into his eyes, she saw a horror and pain that almost mirrored hers.  
She was scared of the future, but they'd manage…

"He'll manage, but he'll need you too" she said, smiling at Kurloz.

He nodded, clenching his jaw.

They'd have to manage…

* * *

"TULA!" Mituna laughed loudly when Latula entered the room.

"Where you bored baby? I brought you crayons, to practise your writing skills."

Mituna scowled.

"Can't we practise to dress?"

Chuckling, Latula sat down next to him.  
It was nice to see Mituna as cheerful as today.

"Why that?"

He let out a lecherous chuckle.

"So that I can undress you!"

Latula laughed out loud and gently patted his head, careful not to hurt him.

"baby steps, writing first."

Mituna groaned and crossed his arm in front of his chest clumsily.

"Don't wanna…"

"Hmm, okay, let's do something you want, and then we can practise? I mean you want to go back to school right?"

This time he nodded and leaned forward.

"I want a kiss."

Smiling, Latula leaned in and pressed a light kiss on his lips, but before she could draw back, she felt his hands on her neck, pulling her closer and he deepened the kiss.  
To be honest, Latula had been afraid of getting so close so fast… given that Mituna often acted like a child now, but it seemed as if his body was able to remember kissing just fine.  
It was just like it used to be.

Eventually, they parted for air, but Mituna rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you, Tulip" he said, smiling lazily.

"I love you too baby…"

For a moment, they remained like this in silence, until Mituna began to giggle and Latula chuckled, looking down where his hand had found a way to feel up her chest.

"Boobyah!"

* * *

So if you liked it and haven't read of love and other failures, read it :)  
Maybe i'll make a new series out of this...  
Anyway, the next one in my character-standalone-fic will be Dirk ;)


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